The Animation Blog.com | Est. 2007

Archives for June, 2009

Check out this five-video “top secret” tour of Disney’s upcoming 2D-animated film The Princess and the Frog, in theaters November 25, 2009 (Los Angeles and New York City) and December 11, 2009 nationwide.

The Simpsons are back with The Complete Twelfth Season, arriving on DVD August 18th from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. The longest running animated series in television history, the latest DVD collection features all 21 episodes from the 2000-01 season including Bartâ€™s boy band odyssey in â€œNew Kids on the Blecchâ€ featuring Nâ€™Sync and a less-than-ordinary day for Homer, Bart and Lisa in â€œTrilogy of Error.â€ The season also features many other guest stars including Drew Barrymore, Edward Norton, Justin Timberlake, Stephen King, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Roger Daltry and many more.

All episodes are compiled on four discs (full frame, aspect ratio 1.33:1). Each episode is presented with English 5.1 Dolby Surround, Spanish and French Stereo and English, French and Spanish subtitles. Check out the cover art along with a breakdown of each disc, after the break.

The world’s greatest Super Heroes become America’s most wanted criminals — and are hunted by friends and foes alike — in SUPERMAN/BATMAN: PUBLIC ENEMIES, the sixth entry in the popular DVD series of DC Universe Animated Original PG-13 Movies. A co-production of Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation, the full-length animated film will be distributed by Warner Home Video on September 29, 2009. SUPERMAN/BATMAN: PUBLIC ENEMIES will be available as a Special Edition 2-disc version on DVD and Blu-Ray, as well as single disc DVD and On Demand.

In the film, United States President Lex Luthor uses the oncoming trajectory of a Kryptonite asteroid to frame Superman and declare a $1 billion bounty on the heads of the Man of Steel and his “partner in crime,” Batman. Heroes and villains alike launch a relentless pursuit of Superman and Batman, who must unite — and recruit help — to stave off the onslaught, stop the asteroid, and uncover Luthor’s devious plot to take command of far more than North America.

SUPERMAN/BATMAN: PUBLIC ENEMIES – 2 Disc Special Edition version will have more than three hours of bonus features, including:

— Featurettes
— The Blackest Night: Inside the DC Comics Event: Behind-the-scenes of BLACKEST NIGHT, the epic DC Super Hero event in which the dead shall rise.
— A Test of Minds: Superman and Batman featurette with Jeph Loeb, giving viewers a fresh and revitalized look at the team-up of Superman and Batman working together despite their often competitive and challenging relationship.
— “Dinner with DC: With Special Guest Kevin Conroy”: Reprising his role from BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, Kevin Conroy joins the crew for dinner to discuss their creative approach and what the Superman/Batman team-up means. The evening will be hosted by Voice Director Andrea Romano, Producer Bruce Timm and DC’s Gregory Noveck
— Extended Sneak Peak at Next DCU Film
— Digital Copy Download
— Widescreen (1.78:1)
— Two Episodes of JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED hand-picked by animation legend Bruce Timm

SUPERMAN/BATMAN: PUBLIC ENEMIES Blu-Ray versions will have more than three-and-a-half hours of bonus materials, including all the extras from the 2-disc Special Edition as well as two additional episodes of JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED and two episodes from JUSTICE LEAGUE, both personally selected by animator Bruce Timm.

Pixar’s UP has reached a milestone that not many films reach; it has surpassed the $250 million mark in domestic ticket sales. This past weekend’s $13,061,737 helped bring UP’s total to $250,234,554. Add to that $35,364,786 from foreign ticket sales, and UP’s current worldwide total is a whopping $285,599,340. I should note, however, that UP has not been released in all foreign territories. In fact, between now and December, it will slowly release in various countries, ending with Japan in mid-December.

Also, UP is now 2009’s highest grossing domestic film, surpassing Star Trek’s current $246 million total. Unfortunately, UP’s position in the #1 spot will be taken away eventually by Transformers 2, which managed to pull in $200 million in only five days!

From the Academy Award-winning director and world-renowned Japanese animation legend Hayao Miyazaki comes PONYO, a story inspired by Hans Christian Andersenâ€™s fairy tale â€œThe Little Mermaid.â€ Already a box-office success in Japan, the films tells the story of a young and overeager goldfish named Ponyo and her quest to become human.

Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland is a hybrid live-action/performance capture animated film that is a semi-sequel to the original Alice in Wonderland tale. Alice, now 17 years old, attends a dinner party only to find out she will be proposed to in front of hundreds of people. Afraid, she runs, following a white rabbit to Wonderland, the place she visited 10 years before but doesn’t remember.

Johnny Depp stars as the Mad Hatter, while Mia Wasikowska plays the titular character. Rounding out the cast are Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen, and Anne Hathaway as the White Queen. The rest of the cast includes Matt Lucas as Tweedledee and Tweedledum, Stephen Fry as The Cheshire Cat, Christopher Lee as the Jabberwock, Crispin Glover as The Knave of Hearts and Alan Rickman as the Caterpillar.

Executive producer Bruce Timm puts the spotlight on character designer Jose Lopez and screenwriter Alan Burnett for their creations in “Green Lantern: First Flight,” the next entry in the series of DC Universe animated original PG-13 movies from Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation.

Warner Home Video will distribute the film â€“ as a special edition 2-disc DVD, a Blu-Ray edition, as well as single disc DVD â€“ on July 28, 2009. The movie will also be available OnDemand and Pay-Per-View as well as available for download day and date, July 28, 2009.

In the midst of producing several more films for the DC Universe series, Timm paused briefly to answer some questions.

Cartoon Network’s newest animated series “Total Drama Action” premiered Thursday night as the most-watched program of the day on all television-broadcast and cable-among kids 6-11, kids 9-14 and boys 2-11, 6-11 and 9-14, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Nickelodeon’s “The Penguins of Madagascar” averaged 3.7 million total viewers and ranked as the week’s top kids’ show on all of basic cable with the repeat performance of “The Hidden/Kingdom Come”. The Penguins Saturday morning airing of “Little Zoo Coupe/All Choked Up” ranked as the number-one telecast for the week with kids 2-11 on broadcast and cable TV.

The show also ranked as the number-one animated series among total viewers for the month of May. Quarter to date, the show is the number-two animated show with kids, only behind SpongeBob SquarePants, and the number-one animated show with total viewers.